Ruminant feed composition

ABSTRACT

Ruminant feed compositions that improve the nitrogen intake retained by the ruminant and the production of volatile fatty acids in the rumen are formulated to contain protein, carbohydrates and as a source of nonprotein nitrogen, a mixture of urea and melamine. The ratio of the weight of the urea nitrogen to the weight of melamine nitrogen is preferably between about 0.8 and about 1.2 and the sum of the weight of the urea and melamine nitrogen constitutes preferably between about 25 and about 50 percent of the total nitrogen in the ruminant feed.

United States Patent Wilson 1 Apr. 4, 1972 [54] RUMINANT FEEDCOMPOSITION [21] Appl. No.: 9,954

[52] US. Cl ..99/2 R, 99/2 N, 99/6, 195/29 [51] Int. Cl. ..A23k 1/00[58] Field of Search ..99/2 R,2N,2CD, 6;

3,142,558 7/1964 Beckham et al. ..71/29 3,512,986 5/1970 Snyder et a1.....99/2 3,420,672 1/1969 Appleman ..99/2

Primary Examiner-Norman Yudkoff Assistant Examiner-Curtis P. RibandoAtt0rney-Fred L. Kelly and Patrick L. Henry [57] ABSTRACT Ruminant feedcompositions that improve the nitrogen intake retained by the ruminantand the production of volatile fatty acids in the rumen are formulatedto contain protein, carbohydrates and as a source of nonproteinnitrogen, a mixture of urea and melamine. The ratio of the weight of theurea nitrogen to the weight of melamine nitrogen is preferably betweenabout 0.8 and about 1.2 and the sum of the weight of the urea andmelamine nitrogen constitutes preferably between about 25 and about 50percent of the total nitrogen in the ruminant feed.

10 Claims, No Drawings RUMINANT FEED COMPOSITION BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention is concerned with feed compositions forruminants and is particularly directed to such compositions whichprovide nonprotein nitrogen products to assist the microorganisms in therumen of such animals to produce protein, volatile fatty acids and othermaterials of value to the ruminant.

Ruminants, including cattle, sheep, goats and camels are of greateconomic importance over much of the world for such purposes as sourcesof food, fiber, hides and power. In many places the natural forageavailable to such animals is deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus or otherelements which are important for the ruminantsgrowth and health. Therehas been a continuing interest in supplementing the diet of ruminants toovercome such deficiencies and to provide improved feeds for ruminantsthat are penned or otherwise confined to limited areas.

Providing a nitrogen-containing feed supplement for ruminants iscomplex. Such factors as cost and utilization must be considered, foralthough a wide variety of materials containing nitrogen have beensuggested, many materials are economically unfeasible as supplements inthe amounts required. Some, while relatively inexpensive on a weightbasis are not properly utilized by the ruminant and therefore areuneconomical.

Consideration of the diet of ruminants includes a consideration of thesymbiotic microorganisms that are normally present in the rumen of suchanimals since such microorganisms are an essential factor in the animalsnutrition, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,768,895 and elsewhere. It ispreferable for the supplement to assist the ruminants symbioticassimilation of microorganisms so as to increase the ruminants appetitefor inexpensive roughage which may conveniently be provided as corncobs, straw, stover, hay or other such agricultural by-products.

Another factor in selecting materials as supplements is palatability.Ruminants exhibit preferences and selection in the materials offered tothem for ingestion. The supplement should be palatable so that theruminant will of its own accord ingest the proper quantity of thesupplement.

It has been suggested in the past that urea be used as anitrogen-containing ruminant feed supplement. However, the forms of ureaheretofore proposed or used as such feed supplements have not beenentirely satisfactory. While urea can be assimilated by ruminants, theefficiency of nitrogen retention by the animal is a minor percentage ofthe urea fed. Moreover, urea feeding must be carried out withconsiderable care in order to minimize potential hazards of ammoniarelease resulting from hydrolysis of the urea to ammonia at a rategreater than the microorganisms of the rumen can use it. The excessammonia finds its way into the blood stream of the ruminant withpossible resulting alkalosis or death of the animal.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,819,968 discloses that melamine can be used as a sourceof nitrogen to supplement the protein feed of ruminants. Melamine isrelatively stable to hydrolysis yet is utilizable by the rumenmicroorganisms. However, melamine is relatively expensive as comparedwith urea, and its nitrogen retention by the ruminant is too lowtocompensate for its greater cost. Accordingly, urea has remained inwidespread use in spite of its serious drawbacks as describedhereinabove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toovercome the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide an improved,lowcost method for adding slowly available nonprotein nitrogen toruminant feed compositions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ruminant feedcomposition that will improve nitrogen intake retained by the ruminantas well as the production of volatile fatty acids in the rumen.

It is a further object of the invention to provide from nonproteinnitrogen supplements a food for rumen microorganisms of low potentialhazards from ammonia-nitrogen absorption by the ruminant.

According to the present invention, ruminant feed compositions areformulated containing protein, carbohydrates and as a supplementarysource of nitrogen other than protein, urea and melamine in amounts suchthat the ratio of the weight of urea nitrogen to the weight of melaminenitrogen is between about 0.6 and about 1.4, and preferably betweenabout 0.8 and about 1.2. Also the amounts of urea and melamine used aresuch that the sum of the weight of the urea nitrogen and the weight ofthe melamine nitrogen constitutes between about 5 percent and about 60percent of the total nitrogen of the ruminant feed, and preferablybetween about 25 percent and about 50 percent thereof.

The compositions may be in the form of a solid or a liquid; however,feed supplements are preferably in the form of an aqueous suspension. Anaqueous suspension can be formulated to contain up to about 50-75percent by weight ruminant food without sacrificing the operationaladvantages of a simple liquid.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION An especially preferred ruminantfeed composition according to the present invention has a weight ratioof urea nitrogen to melamine nitrogen between about 0.9 and 1.1. The sumof the weight of the urea nitrogen and the weight of the melaminenitrogen in such especially preferred composition constitutes betweenabout 40 percent and about 50 percent of the total nitrogen of theruminant feed. Preferably, the urea and melamine is contained in anaqueous suspension ruminant feed supplement formulated to furthercomprise a polyphosphate as a chelating agent and molasses as asuspension promoter. Molasses is preferably present in amount betweenabout 5 percent and about 50 percent by weight of the composition. Acolloidal dispersion of starch granules may also be used as a suspensionpromoter, if desired.

Fluid suspension ruminant feed supplements are generally aqueoussuspensions of ruminant-nourishing compounds of phosphorus, nitrogen,magnesium, calcium, and sulfur. In general, the aqueous suspensionruminant feed supplements contain three to five of the above kinds ofnutrients as well as sodium chloride and minor amounts of otherbeneficial additives.

The production and use of aqueous suspension ruminant feed supplementsis becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to dry feedsupplements. Suspension feed supplements have several advantages overdry supplements. For example, aqueous suspension feed supplements can beformulated to contain up to about 75 percent by weight ruminant foodwithout sacrificing the operational advantages of simple liquid. Afurther advantage of suspension feed supplements is the relative ease bywhich the compositions thereof can be varied. Moreover, a suspensionfeed supplement can be readi ly sprayed onto a dry basal feed ration toovercome the inherent difficulty of achieving uniform distribution bydry-mixing procedures.

Any of the commercially available: forms of urea and melamine may beused to formulate the ruminant feed compositions of the presentinvention. Prilled or crystalline forms of urea may be used or the ureamay be derived from a 69 percent aqueous urea solution which is readilyavailable at a lower cost than prilled or crystalline urea.

Melamine is also produced commercially, for example, from urea inaccordance with U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,163. A lowcost crude melaminecontaining about 3 percent to 10 percent water-insoluble impurities,essentially .a mixture of melem, ammeline and ammelide, may beadvantageously used to reduce the cost of the feed. In the examplesfurnished hereinafter, crude melamine is the description given tomelamine produced from an aqueous crude melamine slurry that is preparedand stripped of ammonia and carbon dioxide as described in US. Pat. No.3,161,638. The aqueous slurry is filtered and the solids dried; thepercentage composition is:

Material Weight Percent Melamine 94.60 NH, 0.04 CO Trace Urea TraceBiuret 0.08 Cyanuric acid 0.00 Melem. ammeline and ammelide 4.90

Preferred polyphosphates suitable for use in this invention are theammoniated polyphosphoric acids, which are preferably (but notnecessarily) employed in commercially available forms, e. g., Poly-N,which is an aqueous ammoniated wet-process superphosphoric acid. Thismaterial can be obtained by evaporating aqueous wet-process phosphoricacid so as to form wet-process superphosphoric acid which is thenammoniated in the presence of water to give aqueous ammoniatedwet-process superphosphoric acid.

An aqueous ammoniated superphosphoric acid having the followingproperties which will hereinafter be referred to as Solution A, wasfound to be useful for purposes of the present invention:

Nitrogen 10% by weight Phosphorus (as p 0,) 34% by weight Trace mineralsl to 2% by weight iron n.0, calcium (CaO) magnesium (MgO) ca. l.0% byweight ca. 0.1% by weight ca. 0.3% by weight pH 6.0 Specific gravity at60 F. l.4 Salting out temperature F.

' Distribution as percent by weight of the ammonium phosphates presentwas about:

orthophosphate pyrophosphate The preferred aqueous suspension ruminantfeed supplements of the present invention are two-phase (solid-liquid)compositions which can be'produced and stored for at least 24 hourswithout any significant sedimentation or growth of large crystals andsolid aggregates (i. e., crystals and aggregates large enough to causeclogging or pipelines and spraying equipment). This period of stabilityenjoyed by the fluid suspensions of the present invention permits theutilization thereof without the need for constant agitation orredispersion of the suspended particles between the time the suspensionsare formulated and the time of their application. Without wishing to bebound by theory, it is believed that the advantages of the presentinvention are achieved in part by virtue of the sequestering action ofthe polyphosphates on the iron and various other trace mineralcomponents. Moreover, soluble magnesium compounds react withpyrophosphates to produce magnesium pyrophosphates in the form ofneedleshaped crystals which act as a random lattice or matrix within thefluid suspension, somewhat analogous to a haystack. This lattice entrapsthe suspended particles and retards the rate of fall-out thereof, andalso promotes the formation of small crystals.

As stated hereinabove, molasses-like suspension promoters can beadvantageously employed conjointly with the use of a polyphosphate.However, the presence of molasses in the suspension feed supplements ofthis invention, albeit desirable, is by no means essential, e.g., starchmay be used in lieu of molasses. When it is desired to include the useof molasses-like suspension promoters in formulating the aqueoussuspension feed compositions of the present invention, it is preferredthat such molasses-like materials be used in amounts between about 5percent by weight and about 50 percent by weight of the totalcomposition. Additional substances, which are beneficial to ruminantsand whose use is conventional in the art, may be incorporated into thesuspension ruminant feed supplements of the present invention. Suchsubstances include, for example, antibiotics, diethylstilbestrol,various vitamins, and compounds of zinc, iron, cobalt, copper, manganeseand magnesium. The use of such additives, while ad vantageous, isnevertheless regarded as ancillary feature of the present invention.

In preparing the novel suspension ruminant feed supplements of thepresent invention, the order of mixing the ingredients is not critical;the advantages of the present invention are realized using any mixingprocedure which achieves a uniform suspension. However, if starch isused as the suspension promoter, it should be in the form of a colloidaldispersion of starch granulates. The starch dispersion is preferablyprepared by agitating the starch in aqueous urea and/or melamine,preferably at about 40 to 70 C. Agitation is required because starch isnot effective as a suspending agent until the particles thereof arebroken down. If it is desired to include molasses-like suspensionpromoters, it is preferably done at this stage. After theabove-mentioned components are blended, a water-soluble polyphosphate isadded and blended into the mixture. Finally, calcium carbonate and otherconventional ruminant nutrients and the like which are desired to besuspended are added to the system. Alternatively, the calcium carbonateand other materials to be suspended can be added prior to the additionof the polyphosphate. The aqueous suspension of the present inventioncan be formulated at am bient temperature or slightly thereabove withconventional agitation. Ambient temperatures are herein defined to meantemperatures substantially below the boiling point of water, andpreferably between about 40 C. and about 70 C.

The examples which follow illustrate embodiments of the inventionwherein ruminants were fed a urea-melamine supplementary feed as apotential source of their protein ingestion, which supplements are moreeffectively used by the animal than urea per se and with considerabledecrease in the potential hazard involved in unmodified urea feeding. Inthese examples, parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwiseindicated.

For economic reasons in formulating the ruminant feed compositionsdescribed in the examples, the melamine is derived from a crude melaminecontaining 65.4 percent nitrogen, which is readily available asdescribed hereinabove at a lower cost than pure melamine. It is notintended, however, to limit the source of melamine to this material. Thepolyphosphate is derived from Solution A, an aqueous ammoniatedsuperphosphoric acid, described in detail hereinabove. Solution Acontains 34 percent phosphate measured as P,,0 of which about 63 percentis present as polyphosphates, chiefly ammonium pyrophosphate.

EXAMPLE 1 A liquid feed supplement for increasing the nitrogen level ofpredominantly high cellulose ruminant feedstufi's was prepared by mixingthe following ingredients.

Material Parts of Weight Molasses 1,300.0 Solution A 200.0 Ammoniumsulfate 30.0 Crude Melamine (65.4% N) 56.5 Urea 79.2 Salt 1200 TraceMineral Mix 4 Vitamin Mix 0.3 Water 210.0

The liquid supplement could be sprayed onto a basal ruminant feedwithout difficulty using conventional equipment for dispensing liquidfeed supplements. The supplement contained about 32 percent equivalent.

EXAMPLE 2 A liquid feed supplement for increasing the nitrogen level ofpredominantly high starch ruminant feedstuffs was prepared bymechanically mixing the following ingredients:

The liquid supplement could be sprayed without difficulty onto a basalruminant feed. The liquid supplement contained about 50 percent proteinequivalent.

EXAMPLE 3 A solid feed supplement for increasing the nitrogen level ofpredominantly high cellulose ruminant feedstuffs was prepared bymechanically mixing the following ingredients.

Material Parts by Weight Ground yellow corn l.6l7

Crude Melamine (65.4% N) 54 Urea 92 Dicalcium phosphate 38 Diammoniumphosphate 100 Salt 120 Vitamin mineral mix 5 The supplement containedabout equivalent.

32 percent protein EXAMPLE 4 A solid feed supplement for increasing thenitrogen level of predominantly high starch ruminant feedstuffs wasprepared by mechanically mixing the following ingredients.

Material Parts by Weight Ground yellow com [,340

Crude melamine (65.4% N) 166 Urea 232 Dicalcium phosphate 38 Diammoniumphosphate 100 Salt I Vitamin mineral mix 5 The supplement containedabout 50 percent protein equivalent.

EXAMPLE 5 A fluid suspension ruminant feed supplement was preparedhaving the following composition:

Pounds per l .000

Diethylstilbestrol Solution Vitamin Mix The 0.5 ton batch was preparedas follows: About 200 pounds of water was placed in a mixing tank andheated to 43 C. Next, 40 pounds of flour was added with vigorousstirring. After a smooth, lump-free mix was obtained, 53 pounds ofmelamine and pounds of 69 percent urea liquor at 65 C. were added andsufficient steam was added to raise the temperature to 68 C. Thetemperature was held at 68 C. for 5 minutes and the remaining water andother ingredients were added. The mixture was stored and allowed to coolto room temperature. Brookfield viscosity of the final mixture was about450 centipoises.

EXAMPLE 6 This example relates to growth tests on ruminant feedscontaining urea and crude melamine.

A molasses-urea-crude melamine supplement was prepared containing 372parts water, 372 parts molasses, parts urea, and 106 parts crudemelamine. The ratio of the weight urea nitrogen to the weight melaminenitrogen was about 1. Five wether lambs were fed a low-quality roughageration at two levels of energy intake, supplemented with themolassesurea-crude melamine mixture to give a total ration containingabout 10 percent protein equivalent. First, a low level of energy intakewas fed for 30 days, then a high level of energy intake was fed for 53days. The ration consisted of:

The lambs were fed twice a day that quantity of the ration they wouldconsume in 1.5 hours. The lambs gained an average of 6 pounds during the30-day growth trial and 15 pounds during the total 83-day growth trail.

In a comparative test using a molasses-urea supplement containing 14percent N, five wether lambs gained only 11 pounds in a similar 83-daygrowth trial.

EXAMPLE 7 This example demonstrates the synergistic effect of feedinglambs a molasses-urea-crude melamine supplement prepared as in Example6, as compared to a molasses-urea supplement and a molasses-crudemelamine supplement containing the same amount of nitrogen, i.e., 14percent N. The test was carried out in a series of controlledexperiments using the lowenergy roughage ration described in Example 6.The supplements each furnished about 42 percent of the total nitrogenintake of the ruminants. Growing lambs were used to measure nitrogenretention, rumen volatile fatty acids and rumen ammonia. The lambs werefed the test rations for 8 weeks prior to the actual test period whichwas 7 days. The results were as follows:

The data indicate a benefit of 8.5 percent units in nitrogen retentionof lambs fed crude melamine as compared to urea. When 50 percent ofsupplemental nitrogen is derived from urea and 50 percent from crudemelamine, a synergistic response results. This is evident with bothpercent nitrogen intake retained and rumen volatile fatty acids.

I claim:

1. A ruminant feed composition comprising a ruminant-ediblecarbohydrate, a ruminant-edible protein and as a source of nitrogenother than protein, urea and melamine, the ratio of the weight of theurea nitrogen to the weight of the melamine nitrogen being between about0.6 and about 1.4, and the sum of the weight of the urea nitrogen andthe weight of the melamine nitrogen constituting between about percentand about 60 percent of the total nitrogen content of the feed.

2. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecomposition is an aqueous suspension, said composition furthercontaining a suspension promoter consisting of molasses in amountbetween about 5 percent and about 50 percent by weight of thecomposition.

3. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the melamine is a crude melamine containing about 90 to 97percent by weight melamine.

4. A ruminant feed composition comprising a ruminant-ediblecarbohydrate, a ruminant-edible protein and as a source of nitrogenother than protein, urea and melamine, the ratio of the weight of theurea nitrogen to the weight of the melamine nitrogen being between about0.8 and about 1.2, and the sum of the weight of the urea nitrogen andthe weight of the melamine nitrogen constituting between about percentand about 50 percent of the total nitrogen content of the feed.

5. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 4, wherein thecomposition is an aqueous suspension, said composition furthercontaining a suspension promoter consisting of molasses in amountbetween about 5 percent and about 50 percent by weight of thecomposition.

6. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 5. wherein themelamine is a crude melamine containing about percent to 97 percent byweight melamine.

7. A ruminant feed composition comprising a ruminant-edi blecarbohydrate, a ruminant'edible protein and as a source of nitrogenother than protein, urea and melamine, the ratio of the weight of theurea nitrogen to the weight of the melamine nitrogen being between about0.9 and about 1.1, and the sum of the weight of the urea nitrogen andthe weight of the melamine nitrogen constituting between about 40percent and about 50 percent of the total nitrogen content of the feed8. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 7,

wherein the composition is an aqueous suspension, said compositionfurther containing a suspension promoter consisting of molasses inamount between about 5 percent and about 50 percent by weight of thecomposition.

9. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 8, wherein themelamine is a crude melamine containing about 90 percent to 97 percentby weight melamine.

10. In a process for the preparation of a ruminant feed compositioncontaining ruminant-edible carbohydrates, minerals, ruminant-edibleprotein and other nitrogen containing substances, the improvement whichcomprises incorporating in the composition urea and melamine, the ratioof the weight of the urea nitrogen to the weight of the melaminenitrogen being between about 0.6 and about 1.4 and the sum of the weightof the urea nitrogen and the melamine nitrogen constituting betweenabout 5 percent and about 60 percent of the total nitrogen content ofthe feed.

2. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecomposition is an aqueous suspension, said composition furthercontaining a suspension promoter consisting of molasses in amountbetween about 5 percent and about 50 percent by weight of thecomposition.
 3. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 2,wherein the melamine is a crude melamine containing about 90 to 97percent by weight melamine.
 4. A ruminant feed composition comprising aruminant-edible carbohydrate, a ruminant-edible protein and as a sourceof nitrogen other than protein, urea and melamine, the ratio of theweight of the urea nitrogen to the weight of the melamine nitrogen beingbetween about 0.8 and about 1.2, and the sum of the weight of the ureanitrogen and the weight of the melamine nitrogen constituting betweenabout 25 percent and about 50 percent of the total nitrogen content ofthe feed.
 5. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 4, whereinthe composition is an aqueous suspension, said composition furthercontaining a suspension promoter consisting of molasses in amountbetween about 5 percent and about 50 percent by weight of thecomposition.
 6. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 5,wherein the melamine is a crude melamine containing about 90 percent to97 percent by weight melamine.
 7. A ruminant feed composition comprisinga ruminant-edible carbohydrate, a ruminant-edible protein and as asource of nitrogen other than protein, urea and melamine, the ratio ofthe weight of the urea nitrogen to the weight of the melamine nitrogenbeing between about 0.9 and about 1.1, and the sum of the weight of theurea nitrogen and the weight of the melamine nitrogen constitutingbetween about 40 percent and about 50 percent of the total nitrogencontent of the feed.
 8. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim7, wherein the composition is an aqueous suspension, said compositionfurther containing a suspension promoter consisting of molasses inamount between about 5 percent and about 50 percent by weight of thecomposition.
 9. A ruminant feed composition as claimed in claim 8,wherein the melamine is a crude melamine containing about 90 percent to97 percent by weight melamine.
 10. In a process for the preparation of aruminant feed composition containing ruminant-edible carbohydrates,minerals, ruminant-edible protein and other nitrogen containingsubstances, the improvement which comprises incorporating in thecomposition urea and melamine, the ratio of the weight of the ureanitrogen to the weight of the melamine nitrogen being between about 0.6and about 1.4 and the sum of the weight of the urea nitrogen and themelamine nitrogen constituting between about 5 percent and about 60percent of the total nitrogen content of the feed.